Stock grants offered by Starbucks and other companies to their workers are a scam directed against workers' interests. Instead of demanding more stock grants, workers should demand payment in higher wages. Experience shows clearly that stock grants weaken the fighting capacity of workers.

Not long after Amazon Labor Union’s historic NLRB victory at JFK8, it was met with a defeat at LDJ5, with a vote count of 618 against the union to 380 in favor. For workers everywhere, this loss is just as important as the victory – if not more – as we draw lessons from for the battles to come with Amazon and other employers. Any struggle waged against the capitalist class, no matter if it is a loss or a victory, is a source of knowledge for all workers. It is an opportunity to regroup and assess where things went wrong and, on that basis, prepare for the march ahead, clear-eyed and more unified than before. For this reason, we should not be afraid of struggle and debate within our ranks. What follows is not an appraisal of tactics adopted by ALU, but an attempt at clarifying some more fundamental points.

We salute the ALU for their courage and persistence, which has led them to victory. Beyond contracts and reforms, we will fight alongside them and all class-conscious workers to satisfy long-term our class interests, which can only be met with a final and decisive end to exploitation and oppression.